December 31, 2021

That Was the Year That Was….

There are many ways to describe 2021. Sociologically, it was a year encased by the unknown and encircled with anxiety and fear...a year of protests, pontification, and propaganda. It was a year filled with liars and deceivers in the media, in academia, and the government. It was a year of collusion, corruption, and change.  Spiritually, it was a year of confusion by which people were perplexed and puzzled as to not only what was going on but why. Trust has waned, relationships have been strained and for many, Christ, the center, will not hold. In some ways we do not know what is happening to us, and that is precisely what is happening to us… We do not know what is happening to us!  However, if you read the New Testament, you will discover that none of this is new. We should not be surprised by the fiery ordeal we at times find ourselves enmeshed in for we live in a world that lies in the lap of the evil one. It is governed by the god of this world and all of creation groans and waits for God and the Sons of God to be revealed. Until then we are to resist the devil and he will flee. We are to not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We are to focus on whatever is true and honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, and if there is anything worthy of praise, we are to let our minds dwell on these things. We do not know what will come in 2022. But we know that He will come soon. And He comes for us. Therefore, if we can trust Him with the last hour then we can trust Him with the next minute. Happy New Year! Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

December 24, 2021

Is Christmas Just a Kids Thing?

They say Christmas is for young children and not for old people. Well, I used to be a child and now I am… a bit older. The truth is that Christmas is for everyone. That is because everyone needs the gift of eternal life.   At Christmas we realize that all that we need was to be found in a place where we would not expect to find anything. In a dirty, smelly stable is where we find the King of kings and Lord of Lords. And He came to that place so He could meet us, all of us. As Anselm reminds us- “Jesus did not come out of curiosity or personal need. The Father sent Him on an errand of mercy solely to accomplish our redemption.”   I would never do that. I would never leave the comfort of heaven and perfect fellowship with the Father and the Spirit to come to earth to die for me. But that is what happened, and as Spurgeon reminds us, “The Infinite became an Infant. The Creator became a Creature. God was in a Cradle.”   This Christmas, whether you are young or old, and in spite of the busyness that seems to crowd around us during this time of celebration, make sure you make some time to remember the mysteriously wonderful words of Syd McCauley; "He who was infinite became finite so that we who were finite might become infinite." Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

December 17, 2021

The Christ of Christmas

One of the great hymns of the faith is one we do not sing and often fail to realize that it is a song. It is an ancient hymn of scripture found in the book of Colossians and it describes the greatness of Jesus, the Christ of Christmas. Let's read and hear the four stanzas that describe our Savior. The Person of Jesus - He is God (Col. 1:15) “He is the image of the invisible God, the “firstborn” of all creation.” Jesus is none other than very God of very God and as such, He has preeminence over all. The Power of Jesus - He is Creator of All (Col:16-17) “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Jesus is both the creator and sustainer of all of creation. The Position of Jesus - He is Head of His Church (Col. 1:18) “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” Popes, Patriarchs, Priests, and Pastors do not lead the Church. Jesus does! The Provision of Jesus - He Provides reconciliation for Sinners (Col.1:19-20) “For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Col 1:15-20) The Plan of God was to send the Son of God to Redeem Mankind. As Saint Anselm reminds us; "Jesus did not come out of curiosity or personal need. The Father sent Him on an errand of mercy solely to accomplish our redemption." Jesus is not just a prophet telling us how to find God. He is God who came to find us. Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

December 10, 2021

A Life of Learning

I tell my students that leaders are readers and readers are leaders. But I find that many people do not read, or what they read is not worth reading. Reading is to lead to learning. Learning is that which leads to light. Many references in the Bible about knowledge are positive, a source for good, and can also be a means of warning and protection (Ps 119). In the garden, God said; “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die” (Gen. 2:17). It is the only prohibition that God gave Adam and Eve and it was for their good. The fact is, some knowledge belongs to God alone (Deut. 29:29) and when we attempt to gain this knowledge apart from God, we seek to declare our human independence from God. As Daniel Alshire reminds us, “Knowledge split apart from God is like atoms splitting in a nuclear explosion. The power unleashed causes great damage. Knowledge, when removed from the divine source, can become idolatrous and destructive; it eviscerates the goodness of learning and its generative contribution to human flourishing.” Learning can lead to the light, but it also has a shadow side which is evident when a good thing is used the wrong way, for a bad purpose, and opposes the will of God. When man seeks to go beyond himself, it often results in him living beneath himself. When we seek to go beyond the boundaries that God has placed upon us, we find ourselves in a state of bondage God never intended for us. Ideas can be ingenious, but they can also be idolatrous. As science takes us into new and uncharted waters creating new ethical challenges, we must always ask the ethical question as well as the science question. We must ask not only, “Can we do it?” but “Should we do it?” Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

December 3, 2021

What Now America?

There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. The obvious fact is that for 50 years our country and our laws have legalized murder on demand. The case before the Supreme Court and the choice to affirm or deny murder by the instrument of abortion is a seismic and seminal decision that will have far-reaching implications for our society. The theological question is simply this; Is a fetus a.k.a. a baby, a person, imprinted with the image of God? If that is true, then abortion is not an option. Many years ago, theologian Karl Barth remarked, "The embryo has its own autonomy, its own brain, its own nervous system, its own blood circulation. If its life is affected by that of the mother, it also affects hers. It can have its own illnesses in which the mother has no part. Conversely, it may be quite healthy even though the mother is seriously ill. It may die while the mother continues to live. It may also continue to live after its mother’s death and be eventually saved by a timely operation on her dead body. In short, it is a human being in its own right" (Church Dogmatics 3.4.416). Today we are dealing with theological and moral questions that have political and legal implications. There is no question that is more foundational than the issue of the nature of people. Pastor Greg Boyd reminds us; “How you answer the question concerning the significance of being human will determine your views about what inherent rights people have, how people should be governed, and what authority, if any, they have to treat animals differently than they treat people. Indeed, how you answer these questions will greatly affect your views on whether it is legal to allow severely deformed babies to die, whether people have the right or responsibility to take others off life support, whether and when people have the right to choose abortion, and whether human cloning should be pursued.” I pray that you will pray that the Lord God of heaven, maker of heaven and earth and all that is in both, will eliminate the stain of this statute and eviscerate this lethal law. Once to every man and nation Comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, For the good or evil side: With each choice God speaking to us Offering each the bloom or blight, Then the man or nation chooses For the darkness or the light ~ James Russell Lowell ~ Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred