Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Two Witnesses = the Church in Vocation / Ministry
Matthew 16:24-26 could be the theme of Rev 11:1-14 as we will see the church move into action to fulfill Rev 10:9-11 (eating the scroll).
Romans 12 is the vocation of the church – to be living sacrifices.
1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,
2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
Many, many, long years ago,my girlfriend took me on a mission trip to Mexico and ruined my life.
Hell, I didn’t even want to go…I didn’t care for or about Mexicans, but she thought it God’s work and promised cheap jewelry at the mercado after I had pleased the Lord by packing a couple hundred Gospels of John around in 100 degree heat.
We had just crossed the border line on top of the bridge that connects El Paso and Juarez when a young woman ran up to me, pulled up her pant leg and showed me an infected wound that exposed the bone. The red lines that scream of sepsis were glowing in both directions from the hole and I wondered how she could even walk.
I gagged from the sight and the smell of dying flesh.
She wanted a dollar.
My lady friend advised me that if I gave everyone a dollar that asked, I’d be broke before we got off the bridge.
I gave her a dollar and a Bible because I had to do…something.
Just then the wind shifted and the smell of raw sewage hit me in the face.
This, I was told to get used to…the sewers didn’t work well here.
There were posters everywhere with pictures of missing women, tied with pink ribbons.
Juarez was hot, poor, dirty, and dangerous and I’d never been so confused by anything in my life.
The pain and poverty were unlike anything I’d ever seen…and so was the joy.
People lined up to get a colorful copy of the Gospel of John and thanked us loudly and profusely for bringing them.
On the other side of the bridge they threw them back in our face…
On the outskirts of the city, where the dust was ankle deep and the homes were made of tires and pallets, they would invite us in to the shacks and want to share the little they had.
They ministered far more to me than I did to them
I was born again, again in that terrible, wonderful, place.
I was given the love of the “other” by the grace and power of God and I would never be the same again.
My friends and family will tell you that I became obsessed with the place and it’s people and over the years became somewhat knowledgable about both.
I was compelled by the love of God.
I’m still compelled by that love, but when I speak of love I’m told about politics.
Where I meet Jesus , I’m told that the important names are Trump or Obama.
Where I see suffering human beings, others see issues.
These children are not like our children, the parents not like us…I do not understand how this can be, but some think it so.
I’m called a “leftist” or a “liberal” when I never feel more “Christian” than when I’m trying to serve the least of these by word or deed.
My brethren have demanded I change my heart and quiet my voice or be excluded from their grace…I have often exchanged my silence for a measure of their acceptance.
I can’t do that anymore.
To stay silent is to deny the work that Christ did in me, it is (for me) to willingly choose to leave the sheep and join the goats because there’s safety in numbers.
I am not naive to the fact that there are political issues involved in these matters.
There will be political solutions, for better or worse.
Those, as they say, are above my pay grade.
My hope is that those solutions will be grounded in the love of God that is poured out on the poor, the oppressed, and all those who need mercy.
If they are not, my prayer is that the church chooses to act as such anyway.
We only serve one name , one Lord, one Master, one King of kings.
He loves without labels and beyond borders.
So must I…His love compels me.
Make your own application…
It’s all yours today…
The Confession of Christ
(Part One)
The Swiss-American church historian, Philip Schaff, said that “creeds will live as long as faith survives, with the duty to confess our faith before men.” The Church throughout the centuries has celebrated the mystery of Christ through creedal formulations. As an Anglican, I note that we have also expressed our faith in the creeds of the ancient church.
The Book of Common Prayer, in fact, contains three “ecumenical” creeds – The Apostles’, the Nicene and the Athanasian. These three creeds are accepted by many, if not most, denominations of Western Christendom, such as the Lutheran churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and certain Reformed churches. (In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Apostles’ Creed is not used as the Nicene Creed is considered normative – being approved by an ecumenical council – in regard to being a statement of faith and for liturgical use.)
A creed (from the Latin credo, “I believe”) is simply a confession, for public or liturgical use, of the faith that one holds. A creed seeks to give a concise formulation of the faith and to express it in an understandable way. Surprisingly to some, Christian creeds actually have their origin in the New Testament writings themselves. In fact, Christ promised eternal rewards for those who would “confess [Him] before men” (Matt. 10:32), and Paul appears to associate a confession of faith with salvation: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus [Jesus is Lord] and shalt believe in thine heart… thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9). Certainly we may speak of the baptismal formula and the words of institution of the Lord’s Supper as proto-creeds of the early Church. In the New Testament, creedal formulas arise out of God’s initiative in Christ’s own words or in the response of the disciples to that revelation. These confessions of faith could be as simple as “Jesus is Lord” or “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). Yet, even in the pages of the New Testament more complex creeds are alluded to in certain passages. For instance: “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (I Cor. 8:6). Such passages contain a structure highly suggestive of a creedal formula.
Yet, what is the purpose of a creed?
Historically there have been three essential purposes; recently there has been added yet another purpose. The first purpose is demarcation. The initial use of the creeds (for instance, in the New Testament and the early Christian community) was to identify the Church as an entity separate from both Judaism and the pagan world. A second purpose is celebration. The creeds have always had a liturgical function in the Church. This is especially true in regard to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the rite of baptism and the confirmation of the newly baptized. A third function is preservation. In the age of the Church councils (325-787) creeds were employed to distinguish the Church from heretical groups, as well as to instruct the laity concerning the decisions of the councils. A fourth, more recent purpose, is identification. Since the time of the Reformation, creeds, or confessions of faith, or statements of faith, have been used to point out the particular doctrinal stances of certain denominations within the Christian family, without, however, ecumenical or universal sanction. Such formulations may be seen in the Anglican Thirty-nine Articles, the Lutheran Book of Concord, the Reformed Westminster Confession, or even the Our Beliefs page of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa or the Statement of Faith of the new non-denominational church plant down the street.
Nevertheless, the main purpose of any Christian creed is, of course, to confess Christ. Although each of the creeds that we will examine in this series is trinitarian in structure, the main article and emphasis in each concern the person and work of Jesus Christ. These creeds were, first and foremost, given by the Church as safeguards to protect the integrity of the believers’ faith in Christ as individuals and as a community.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Martin Luther said of this creed, “Christian truth could not possibly be put into a shorter or clearer statement”. The Apostle’s Creed, insofar as its present form, is not the work of the twelve apostles, as was once popularly believed. It is, however, a summation of apostolic teaching and preaching. The present form is based upon what is called the Old Roman Creed of the fourth century. (It was augmented for use in all the western churches and was put into its present form in the sixth or seventh century.) The Old Roman Creed, in turn, had been based upon earlier rules of faith that had become popular in the second and thirds centuries and that are mentioned by a number of church fathers, such as Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose and Augustine. The rules of faith that these writers refer to most likely began as baptismal confessions in which candidates for baptism would be asked, “Do you believe in God the Father… God the Son… God the Holy Spirit…?” to which they would reply, “I believe…” (Credo). These original rules of faith were regarded in the early Church as a portion of the “mysteries” or the secret discipline of the faith to which only the fully initiated had access.
The Apostles’ Creed (with the slight variations of differing denominations) focuses on the person of Christ as its main subject. It teaches that although the Church, like the Jews, worships a transcendent God who is almighty, yet the Church believes that God has shown Himself in the man Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most telling phrase in the creed is that this Jesus was “crucified” and “suffered under Pontius Pilate”, thus placing the eternal Deity in the realm of history and reconciling the absolute God with the particular person of Jesus of Nazareth. This incarnational emphasis was to place the Church on a doctrinal tightrope for the first four centuries of its existence, but, please note, it was there from the very beginning of the Christian community. It was a mystery so divine, that humankind could scarce believe it. It was so incomprehensible to the minds of men and women that many people found it difficult to accept the reality of the Incarnation in all of its glory and majesty, much less its extensive theological implications. Yet, following a precedent found in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 15ff), the Church would gather in council in the ensuing centuries to assure, in particular, that the fullness of this mystery of the Incarnation would be preserved intact for the future, recognizing that all Christian theology must flow from this source. That God became man and dwelt among us is not only the heart of the creeds, it is the heart of our faith.
I know this is an issue that is near and dear to Michael’s heart and has brought him much consternation and despair over the years. Let it be known that these are my own thoughts and words that I have written only at my own initiative, and any adverse thoughts or reaction should be directed at and placed upon me.
There is so much information and misinformation out there right now that it is hard for the common person to get a full and accurate grasp and understanding of what all is currently going on and has happened in the past with the family separations at our southern border. More so than anything else, some of those on the political left and in mainstream media seem overly desirous of pinning all blame on President Trump and his administration and to make him/them appear in the worst possible light, whether through real facts or fabrications or misrepresentations, while also harboring other political motives. More so than anything else, some of those on the political right and in conservative media seem overly concerned with protecting President Trump and his administration and shielding him/them from any blame and also highly esteeming his/their actions, whether through real facts or fabrications or misrepresentations, while also harboring other political motives.
What is without question is that the practice of separating children from their parents on our southern border has risen sharply within the past couple months due to actions taken by this current administration. And also what should be without question is that this practice and its rapid expansion are not good things. For those who choose to delve into this issue, this is where I believe our major focus should be at this moment. How do we put a stop to such an anguishing and traumatic practice while also maintaining some measure of law and order? As with ostensibly many immigration issues, there are not simple and easy solutions. However, we must find a way to do better. Until very recently, our government found ways to employ the use of this practice to much lower levels and I would contend in no way was its lesser use resulting in a catastrophic effect upon our country, or anything close to it. I am not versed nearly well enough on the subject to give expert opinion on the technicalities of how to do so, but at the very least, if we want to more strictly enforce our borders, let’s at least first find a way to do it more humanely.
Yes, there are cases of people getting into our country that shouldn’t under any circumstance – drug traffickers, child sex traffickers, and other serious criminals. Even with the sudden and drastic “zero tolerance” policy in effect, many of these types will still get through as they know the strategic avenues of how to do so. Most of those being caught are the “commoner” families and individuals who don’t know the strategic ways to get in covertly, or who even in many cases, are purposely giving themselves up to authorities once they cross. It takes much more than this “zero tolerance” policy to capture the majority of those who truly are coming to cause harm. And when the dangerous criminals do get caught, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, including having any children taken away from them.
Beyond that, there seemingly have been others who have been taking advantage of the situation by bringing children with them, sometimes children who are not even their own and/or for which they are not main guardians, to increase their chances of receiving favorable treatment. Others have been claiming asylum when they may not have any real claim of fleeing terrible situations. There are definitely cases that are fraudulent. Our government uses their intelligence and capabilities to sort through and identify such cases, yet surely, there are some who end up getting through and receive better treatment than they should.
Nonetheless, above all as a Christian, I must view this through a “God lens” first, and not a nationalistic or political one. And I see much in Scripture exhorting us to be especially mindful and compassionate towards the poor and needy and sojourner and the “least of these”. Many of these families that are being separated are not out to cause harm. They are fleeing dire and calamitous circumstances for the protection and betterment of their loved ones. In many cases, they are claiming asylum once they cross, which is an allowable and legal thing to do. Often times they aren’t crossing at the approved ports of entry due to some combination of not knowing where they are supposed to cross, or being scared off by organized crime on the Mexican side of the border, or in many cases, being confusingly told at the approved ports of entry that they can’t come through. If I chose to place my main view of focus to see and treat people in circumstances like these as “criminals”, then I believe I am miserably failing how God calls me to see and love people. Even if it causes me to end up viewing some people better than what they “deserve”.
This has nothing to do with needing to find something to be “outraged” about or needing to be a “social justice warrior” or needing something new about which to be “anti-Trump.” The hazarded pejoratives may come in attempt to diminish or belittle my stance or those of others with similar postures. But they will not stick as this is about trying to see and have people treated as I believe God would have us to do so, and nothing else.
Just as I would with other issues, I implore my government to act more justly and righteously on this issue, most specifically in regards to the practice of separating parents and children who have crossed the border. I would implore other Christians who choose to engage in this issue to do the same. And may God have mercy on the poor souls who are seeking some kind of earthly relief from atrocious conditions for themselves and their families.
600 Methodists file church complaint against Jeff Sessions…
Three things to remember if you’re struggling with a porn addiction…
Roger Olson asks if the evangelical church of his youth is gone…
Universalism and the devils redemption…
Canada forbids start of christian law school because of LGBTQ stance…
Christian persecuting Christian…
What women need most from brothers in Christ…
Let go of buildings or face church extinction…
Is your ministry headquarters trivial?
Some of J.D.Greer’s congregation didn’t know they were a Southern Baptist church…
Mothers have always crossed boundaries to save their kids…
“You can gauge the power of an institution by the number of people lined up to beg for mercy at its door. The longer the line, the more powerful the institution, the more powerful the institution, the more preoccupied it becomes with self-preservation. Laws, traditions, and litmus tests proliferate. These can shield from very real threats, but they are also used to insulate against change, the different, the low and deserving. The world’s great religions and countries have always guarded their thresholds against the people pressing into them seeking their portion of grace.”
What churches get wrong about sexual abuse…
Community in the worn and used…
Latimer and Ridley are forgotten…
The world doesn’t need extraordinary fathers…
Why anxiety has so much power over us…
Big thanks to EricL for the link help…support him at top right…
1. The use of terms like “leftist”, “law breakers”, “Trumpster”, etc, is not for identification purposes, but for dehumanization purposes. We’re quickly reaching the next stage of societal deterioration, which is no longer seeing the “other” as a human being, but an enemy to be defeated…or even destroyed. We are denying each other both personhood and the imago dei and history writes in bold and bloody script the results of such thinking…
2. Sometimes the will of the people is for Barabbas…
3. The latest intramural war among Christians over the ReVoice conference is being framed as political (as is everything else in life these days). In reality, the question is theological…to what degree does the Gospel transform people? Does the new birth change the whole nature of the person or simply change the spiritual standing in heaven? I’m not sure there’s a clear answer…
4. The idea that apologetics can “prove” the veracity of the faith is silly. Faith cannot be empirically proven…or even made reasonable. We believe a dead man got up and walked and because he did, we will too…good luck with “proving” that…it’s still true…
5. Just once…I wish Greg Laurie would promise the crusade goers suffering…because Jesus does…
6. We could start actually solving some problems if our preferred label for each other was “neighbor”…
7. “Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people,but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”” (Matthew 19:13–14 ESV) Maybe…Jesus is trying to save us all those “mission trips” by bringing the children to us to bring them to Him…no, that can’t be…
8. Were the prophets of the Older Testament “social justice warriors”? Asking for a friend…
9. The Bible “clearly teaches” that life comes through death, “winning” through weakness…Paul boasted of his infirmities…we don’t…
10. If you think this list is a mess, you ought to see my mind…
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”
10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.
11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
The whole purpose of the appearance of the Mighty Angel and His scroll rings out loud and clear: John (and all pastors) must proclaim the message of God among all peoples on earth. That is the mission of the Church throughout the NT era.
The Church’s mission is to “make disciples of all nations by baptizing them and teaching them all that Christ commands” Matt 28:19-20. For this reason, it is vital that the Church truly understand her mission – that she be committed to “making disciples,” not filling the pews. The church must be committed not only to bringing people into the Church, but to seeing to it that those people are properly catechized into the faith. The church must realize that watering down the doctrine and practice will only result in “watered-down,” nominal Christians. The church must remain firm and steadfast in the Word it has been given to proclaim to the world. Then, and only then, is the church about the Lord’s business, fulfilling the mission He has given it to fulfill.